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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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THE FISH AND THE DOG
"You shall not hate your brother in your heart;
You shall certainly rebuke your friend; [but] you shall
not bear a sin on his account." Leviticus
18:5
"You shall not bear a sin on his account." Do not
shame him in public. Rashi
Even though I have instructed you to reprove
him, when necessary, it should be done in private and
not in a way that embarrasses him. Sifra Kedoshim
It has been told that Rabbi Nachman of Kosov had a
relative named Rabbi Yudel of Chudnov that was also
a follower of the Baal Shem Tov.
Rabbi Yudel was careful not to accept favors of
others. He preferred to provide for himself from his
own work, running an iron ore business.
Once, Rabbi Yudel went to check on one of his iron
ore mines. Being a long way from his home, he
decided to spend the Sabbath in a small village near
the mine. He asked Reb Meir, a local householder in
that village, if he could spend the Sabbath with him.
Reb Meir answered, "Of course, Rabbi Yudel,
it would
be my honor if you would be my guest for the
Sabbath. But I don't have any fish or meat for you to
eat at the Sabbath meals. To my knowledge, no one
has caught a fish here lately. And while I do have
some meat that can be prepared, you being a Hassid,
won't be able to eat it because you didn't have a
chance to examine the knife used by the shochet
(ritual slaughterer)." [In those days, the Hassidim
were very careful to check the knife used by the
shochet to be sure the edge of the knife blade was
razor sharp and free of any knicks that would render
the meat of the slaughtered animal unkosher.]
Reb
Meir continued, "Rabbi Yudel, I suggest that you
journey to the next village where a wealthy man lives.
He is an old acquaintance of mine and I know that
he'll be very pleased to host you for the Sabbath. He
has his own shochet and will be able to provide fish
and meat that will meet your standards."
Rabbi Yudel decided to follow Reb Meir's advice and
started to walk on the road towards the next village
where the wealthy man lived. The road connecting the
two villages passed through a large pond which one
had to cross to go from one village to the other.
Usually, the water in the pond was quite shallow. But
after a strong rain or in the spring after the snow
melted, the water in the pond became much deeper.
When Rabbi Yudel reached the pond, he wasn't aware
that strong spring rains caused the pond water to be
exceptionally deep.
Just as Rabbi Yudel was
about to
step into the pond and cross to the other side, a dog
jumped in and started to drown. The dog started
howling from fear. The howling of the drowning dog
upset Rabbi Yudel so much that he began to shed
tears.
After this experience, Rabbi Yudel decided that the
water was too deep for him to continue his way to the
next village. So he returned to the village that he had
just left. When Reb Meir saw him he asked, "Rabbi, I
thought you were gong to the next town to celebrate
the Sabbath."
Rabbi Yudel answered, "When I reached the pond, I
didn't realize how deep the water is right now. Just
then, thank G·d, a dog jumped into the pond.
But
unfortunately, it couldn't swim and it drowned. The
howling of the drowning dog upset me so much that I
decided to return here for the Sabbath."
Reb Meir said, "Rabbi Yudel, of course you're always
welcome to stay with me but what will you eat for the
Sabbath meals?"
Rabbi Yudel asked, "Could you please see if there is
any chance at all that you might get a fish for the
Sabbath meals?"
Reb Meir requested a few of the local villagers to really
try and catch a few fish. Almost miraculously, they
returned that very afternoon with an unusually large
pike.
When Reb Meir saw the fish, he said in
amazement, "In all the years I've lived here, I've never
seen such a large fish." The villagers that caught the
fish shook their heads in agreement.
That day, being Friday, Reb Meir's wife prepared
several sumptuous meals for the Sabbath with the
fish.
Later that night, Rabbi Yudel was sitting at the
Sabbath table with Reb Meir and his family. After
making Kiddush (sanctifying the Sabbath over a cup of
wine), eating the Sabbath dinner and singing several
Sabbath songs, Reb Meir and his family left the table
to go to sleep.
Rabbi Yudel stayed at the table to study a
Holy book, as was his custom, before going to sleep.
A strong feeling of tiredness came over him and he
put his head down on the table to rest. After a few
short minutes, he fell into a deep sleep.
During this
sleep, he had a vivid dream in which his father
appeared and spoke to him. "My son, I was
reincarnated as that fish you were eating tonight. Do
you remember that man I always spoke so strongly
against because he was an informer against our
Jewish brethren? Well, he was reincarnated as the
dog that you saw drown in the pond. He finally made
up for his behavior as an informer when he drowned
to save you."
Rabbi Yudel's father continued speaking in the
dream, "I was reincarnated as the fish because I
publicly condemned this informer. As the Torah
says, 'You shall not bear a sin on his account.' My
son, the tears you shed when the dog howled as he
drowned, atoned for me. Please be careful how you
eat the fish. Be sure to hold the proper intentions in
your mind. This will help elevate my soul."
Later, Rabbi Yudel came to the Baal Shem Tov and
told him this story.
The Baal Shem Tov
said, "And you
Reb Yudel, are a reincarnation of Shmuel HaNavi
(Samuel the Prophet)."
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaKohane
(Howard M. Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in
SHIVCHEI HABESHT as translated IN PRAISE OF
THE BAAL SHEM TOV by Amos & Mintz
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Sefer Baal Shem Tov
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
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In righteousness you shall judge your people.
(Leviticus 19:15)
"[This means that] you should judge your friend
favorably."1
The Baal Shem Tov explained the verse: "Deliver me
from all my transgressions; make me not the
reproach of the despised" (Psalms 19:9), that when
you see a wicked person commit some despicable
act or grievous sin, you should judge him favorably.
He only did it because his passions overcame him,
and he has a coarse physical nature, or he doesn't
realize the seriousness of the crime. [You should
think] these and similar thoughts. Then, you also save
yourself from judgment; for seeing this low thing in
your friend should make you realize that you share a
similar trait, and that there are Judgments and
Accusations upon you, as well. When your can judge
your friend favorably, you will likewise be judged. By
not arousing judgment upon a sinner, who is
overcome by his desires, you fulfill the verse: "You
shall not incline the judgment of your poor in his
dispute" (Exodus 23:6). When trials and conflicts
overwhelm him,2 from the "waters of
dispute"3 - evil, malicious waters - you
should arouse favorable judgments upon him.
Really, this is all a great test. For
a person is never sentenced for his crimes until he
first passes judgment upon himself. And since he will
certainly not judge himself, they show him a person
who did something similar. When he passes
judgment upon the latter, he seals the judgment on
himself, as well.
Otzar HaYirah, Mishpotim, p. 193b
1Shavuos 30a.
2I.e., when he struggles against his own
evil inclination.
3From Numbers 20:13.
Translation
and Commentary by Rabbi Dr.
Eliezer Shore
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THE PILLAR OF PRAYER
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on Prayer
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Section 117.
"They hit him with a
blacksmith's hammer."
According to the Baal Shem Tov, this means the death
of the soul.
Kol Ariyeh, Mishpotim
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr.
Eliezer Shore
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THE LIGHT OF THE EYES
On the Greatness of the Baal Shem Tov
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Section 1.
A soul like that of the Baal Shem Tov comes into this
world once in a thousand years.
Rabbi Yisroel of Koshnitz (1761)
Translation and Commentary by
Rabbi
Dr. Eliezer Shore
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KESER SHEM TOV
Anthology of the Teachings of the Baal Shem Tov
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Section 151
The Baal Shem Tov taught1:
Some people are able to enter and exit, as we find by
Abraham, "Abram went up from Egypt,"2
meaning that after he descended, he was able to rise
up together with all the lower levels. Others, though,
are unable to rise and return after
descending.
This can be compared to the following parable:
There was a gangsters' hideout along a pathway
through the forest, which made passing through the
forest very dangerous. Once, two people happened to
be passing through together, one of them sober, and
the other one a drunkard. The gangsters attacked both
of them, marauded them and left them penniless and
wounded. When they reached the other side of the
forest, they were met by a group of people, some of
whom asked the drunkard if they had gotten through
the forest safely or not. The drunkard
answered, "Surely. There's no danger there at all," to
which they inquired, "Then what are all those wounds
all over you?" The drunkard did not know what to
answer. Then others of the group asked the sober
man, who warned them at length about the great
danger that lurks in the forest.
The difference between the two is that the sober one
is able to warn others not to enter the forest without
armed guards, whereas the drunkard is unable to
warn anyone.
By the same token, the righteous person who serves
G·d knows about the dangers of the evil
inclination and about the "gangsters" along the path of
serving G·d, and always lives with vigilance to
avoid the traps, and knows to warn others of the
danger. The wicked person, though, always enjoys
following the evil inclination, and says that there's no
danger in this world.3
In the next world, too, it will be different for them. For
while the wicked person is happy to be released from
this world, the world of falsehood (which is why the
passing of the righteous is referred to as a release,
for he is released from the suffering of this world), and
he rejoices when he reaches the next world, the
wicked person will be shown a reckoning of his deeds
and will have to give an accounting for them.
1Toldot Yaakov Yoseph, Exodus #1,
Tavo #1.
2Exodus 13:1. This and the next verse
state that Abraham came up with huge wealth, which
includes spiritual wealth as well, specifically an
elevation of the lower levels.
3That is, most people go through this
world completely unaware of how they are being
spiritually marauded all along the way, and of how
their souls are being mortally wounded. The righteous
person, though, is able to wake people up from their
stupor, so that they learn to avoid the traps of this
world.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
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